Sura-33 [Al Ahzab madina 90]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s version:
يَا
أَيُّهَا
النَّبِيُّ
قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ...
33:28 [Ali] O Prophet! say to thy Consorts:
...إِن كُنتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا...
"If it be that ye desire the life of this world, and its glitter, --
...فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلًا ﴿٢٨﴾
then come! I will provide for your enjoyment and set you free in a handsome manner."
C3706. We now come to the subject of the position of the Consorts of Purity (azwaj mutahharat), the wives of the holy Prophet.
Their position was not like that of ordinary women or ordinary wives. They had special duties and responsibilities.
The only youthful marriage of the holy Prophet was his first marriage-that with Hadhrat Khadija, the best of women and the best of wives. He married her fifteen years before he received his call to Prophethood; their married life lasted for twenty-five years, and their mutual devotion was of the noblest, judged by spiritual as well as social standards. During her life he had no other wife, which was unusual for a man of his standing among his people. When she died, his age was 50, and but for two considerations, he would probably never have married again, as he was most abstemious in his physical life.
The two considerations which governed his later marriages were:
1. compassion and clemency, as when he wanted to provide for suffering widows, who could not be provided for in any other way in that stage of society; some of them, like Sauda, had issue by their former marriage, requiring protection;
2. help in his duties of leadership, with women, who had to be instructed and kept together in the large Muslim family, where women and men had similar social rights.
- Hadhrat Aisha, daughter of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, was clever and learned, and in Hadith she is an important authority on the life of the Prophet.
- Hadhrat Zaynab, daughter of Khuzaima, was specially devoted to the poor; she was called the "Mother of the Poor".
- The other Zaynab, daughter of Jahsh, also worked for the poor, for whom she provided from the proceeds of her manual work, as she was skillful in leather work.
But all the Consorts in their high position had to work and assist as Mothers of the Ummah. Theirs were not idle lives, like those of Odalisques, either for their own pleasure or the pleasure of their husband.
They are told here that they had no place in the sacred Household if they merely wished for ease or worldly glitter. If such were the case, they could be divorced and amply provided for.
وَإِن
كُنتُنَّ
تُرِدْنَ اللَّهَ
وَرَسُولَهُ
وَالدَّارَ
الْآخِرَةَ...
33:29. But if ye seek Allah and His Messenger, and the Home of the Hereafter,
...فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْمُحْسِنَاتِ مِنكُنَّ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ﴿٢٩﴾
verily Allah has prepared for the well-doers amongst you a great reward.
C3707. They were all well-doers. But being in their exalted position, they had extra responsibility, and they had to be specially careful to discharge it. In the same way their reward would be "great", for higher services bring higher spiritual satisfaction, though they were asked to deny themselves some of the ordinary indulgences of this life.
يَا
نِسَاء
النَّبِيِّ...
33:30. O Consorts of the Prophet!
...مَن يَأْتِ مِنكُنَّ بِفَاحِشَةٍ مُّبَيِّنَةٍ يُضَاعَفْ لَهَا الْعَذَابُ ضِعْفَيْنِ...
if any of you were guilty of evident unseemly conduct, the Punishment would be doubled to her,
C3708. "Evident unseemly conduct" i.e., proved misconduct, as opposed to false slanders from enemies.
Such slanders were of no account, but if any of them had behaved in an unseemly manner, it would have been a worse offence than in the case of ordinary women, on account of their special position. Of course none of them were in the least guilty.
...وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا ﴿٣٠﴾
and that is easy for Allah.
The punishment in this life for a married woman's unchastity is very severe:
- for fornication, public flogging with a hundred stripes, under 24:2;
- or for lewdness (see 4:15) imprisonment;
- or stoning to death for adultery, according to certain precedents established in Canon Law.
But here the question is not about this kind of punishment or this kind of offence. Even minor indiscretions, in the case of women who were patterns of decorum, would have been reprehensible; and the punishment in the Hereafter is on a higher plane, which we can scarcely understand.
But Allah can appreciate every shade of motive in us. More or less is possible there, which might not be possible in the rough and ready law which we administer here.
وَمَن
يَقْنُتْ
مِنكُنَّ لِلَّهِ
وَرَسُولِهِ
وَتَعْمَلْ
صَالِحًا نُّؤْتِهَا
أَجْرَهَا
مَرَّتَيْنِ...
33:31. But any of you that is devout in the service of Allah and His Messenger, and works righteousness -- to her shall We grant her reward twice:
C3710. Twice, i.e., once as a righteous woman, and again as a Mother of the Believers, serving the believing women and thus showing her devotion to Allah and His Prophet.
...وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهَا رِزْقًا كَرِيمًا ﴿٣١﴾
and We have prepared for her a generous Sustenance.
C3711. Sustenance: all that is necessary to sustain her in happiness in her future life.
يَا
نِسَاء
النَّبِيِّ
لَسْتُنَّ
كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ
النِّسَاء...
33:32. O Consorts of the Prophet!
ye are not like any of the (other) women:
C3712. This is the core of the whole passage.
The Prophet's Consorts were not like ordinary women, nor was their marriage an ordinary marriage, in which only personal or social considerations enter.
They had a special position and special responsibilities, in the matter of guiding and instructing women who came into the fold of Islam. Islam is a Way of Life, and the Muslims are a family: women have as much place in Islam as men, and their intimate instruction must obviously be through women.
...إِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ فَلَا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ فَيَطْمَعَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَضٌ...
if ye do fear (Allah), be not too complaisant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire:
...وَقُلْنَ قَوْلًا مَّعْرُوفًا ﴿٣٢﴾
but speak ye a speech (that is) just.
C3713. While they were to be kind and gentle to all, they were to be guarded on account of their special position lest people might misunderstand or take advantage of their kindness.
They were to make no vulgar worldly displays as in the times of Paganism.
وَقَرْنَ
فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ
وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ
تَبَرُّجَ
الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ
الْأُولَى...
33:33. - And stay quietly in your houses,
- and make not a dazzling display, like that of the former Times of Ignorance;
...وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ...
- and establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity;
and obey Allah and His Messenger.
C3714. Obedience to Allah's Law sums up all duties. Regular Prayer (seeking nearness to Allah) and Regular Charity (doing good to fellow-creatures) are mentioned as special features of our Religion.
...إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ ...
And Allah only wishes to remove all abomination from you, ye Members of the Family,
C3715. Notice the transition in the clause to the masculine gender, while before this the verbs and pronouns were in the feminine gender as referring to the Consorts. The statement in the clause is now more general including (besides the consort) the whole family, namely Fatimah the daughter, Ali the on-in-law, and their sons Hasan and Husayn, the beloved grandsons of the Prophet. The masculine gender is used generally, in speaking of a mixed assembly of men and women.
...وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا ﴿٣٣﴾
and to make you pure and spotless.
وَاذْكُرْنَ
مَا يُتْلَى
فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ
مِنْ آيَاتِ
اللَّهِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ...
33:34. And recite what is rehearsed to you in your homes, of the Signs of Allah and His wisdom:
C3716. The verb is uzkurna, feminine gender, as referring to the Azwaj again.
It means not only "remember", but "recite", "teach", "make known", "publish", the Message which ye learn at home from the holy Prophet, the fountain of spiritual knowledge.
The "Signs of Allah" refer specially to the verses of the Quran, and Wisdom to the resulting Instruction derived therefrom.
...إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ لَطِيفًا خَبِيرًا ﴿٣٤﴾
for Allah understands the finest mysteries and is well-acquainted (with them).
Allah's understanding is perfect in every detail, however minute. Therefore use His Revelation for every phase of life.
Asad’s Version:
33:28 O PROPHET! Say unto thy wives: "If you desire [but] the life of this world and its charms - well, then, I shall provide for you and release you in a becoming manner; 31
(33:29) but if you desire God and His Apostle, and [thus the good of] the life in the hereafter, then [know that], verily, for the doers of good among you God has readied a mighty reward!""
33:30 O wives of the Prophet! If any of you were to become guilty of manifestly immoral conduct," double [that of other sinners] would be her suffering [in the hereafter] : for that is indeed easy for God.
(33:31) But if any of you devoutly obeys God and His Apostle and does good deeds, on her shall We bestow her reward twice-over: for We shall have readied for her a most excellent sustenance [in the life to come]."
33:32 O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the [other] women, provided that you remain [truly] conscious of God." Hence, be not over-soft in your speech, lest any whose heart is diseased should be moved to desire [you]: but, withal, speak in a kindly way.
(33:33) And abide quietly in your homes, and do not flaunt your charms as they used to flaunt them in the old days of pagan ignorance; 36 and be constant in prayer, and render the purifying dues, and pay heed unto God and His Apostle: for God only wants to remove from you all that might be loathsome, O you members of the (Prophet's] household, and to purify you to utmost purity.
(33:34) And bear in mind all that is recited in your homes of God's messages and (His] wisdom: for God is unfathomable (in His wisdom], all-aware. 37
[[Asad’s notes -
31 By the time this verse was revealed (see note 65 on verse 52 of this surah) the Muslims had conquered the rich agricultural region of Khaybar, and the community had grown more prosperous. But while life was becoming easier for most of its members, this ease was not reflected in the household of the Prophet who, as before, allowed himself and his family only the absolute minimum necessary for the most simple living.
In view of the changed circumstances, it was no more than natural that his wives were longing for a share in the comparative luxuries which other Muslim women could now enjoy, but an acquiescence by Muhammad to their demand would have conflicted with the principle, observed by him throughout his life, that the standard of living of God's Apostle and
his family should not be higher than that of the poorest of the believers.
32 When, immediately after their revelation, the Prophet recited the above two verses to his wives, all of them emphatically rejected all thought of separation and declared that they had chosen "God and His Apostle and the [good of the] hereafter" (recorded in several compilations of ahadith, among them Bukhari and Muslim). Some of the earliest Islamic scholars (e.g., Qatadah and Al- Hasan, as quoted by Tabari) held that the subsequent revelation of verse 52 of this surah constituted God's reward, as it were, for this attitude.
33 Regarding this connotation of the term fahishah, see surah 4, note 14. According to
Zamakhshari, in his commentary on the present verse, this term comprises all that may be described as a "gross sin' (kabirah).
34 See note 5 on 8:4.
35 Sc, "and, thus, conscious of your special position as the consorts of God's Apostle and mothers of the believers".
36 The term jahiliyyah denotes the period of a people's or civilization's - moral ignorance between the obliteration of one prophetic teaching and the emergence of another; and, more specifically, the period of Arabian paganism before the advent of Muhammad. Apart from these historical connotations, however, the term describes the state of moral ignorance or unconsciousness in its general sense, irrespective of time or social environment. (See also note 71 on 5:50.) ]]